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A prominent real estate CEO and education advisory committee member for REIA’s Pathway to Professionalism is urging his industry to strive for continuous professional development, while warning against “sugar fix” training.
Douglas Driscoll, CEO of Starr Partners, urges agents to develop long-term skills, irrespective of market conditions.
“We’ve seen property prices, and hence the industry, grow exponentially over the last six years, which for some agents is all they have experienced,” Mr Driscoll said.
“With the market cooling, these agents are being forced to develop the skills to be able to adapt; but it shouldn’t take a shift in market conditions to commit to self-improvement. We need to get better at getting better.
“Most agents tend to shy away from ongoing education. But to be successful, you need to learn before you earn and fully commit to professional development. Being time-poor, we have a propensity to take shortcuts when it comes to training and often gravitate towards ‘sugar fix’ content. If we are serious about being recognised as a profession, then we need to get serious about education.”
Mr Driscoll said that too often people market themselves as a coach or influencer, but aren’t qualified to do so.
“The double-edged sword of social media is that it is a platform for any Tom, Dick or Harry with a smartphone to position themselves as an expert in something,” the CEO said.
“We have some of the best real estate coaches on the planet in this country, but we also have our fair share of charlatans.”
Mr Driscoll said that when searching for a real estate trainer, people should be looking at their career achievements, qualifications and credentials.
“A good real estate trainer should be able to provide you with tangible results on how they’ve helped clients make quantifiable gains.
“They should also offer a structured learning approach, with set goals for their clients to meet to track how they have improved. It is also up to the agent to hold themselves accountable to their coach, and to commit to learning to better themselves and the industry.”
